


Just Like Magic

by Traxits



Category: DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Shazam (Comics)
Genre: Disney World, Light-hearted kidnapping, Multi, surprisingly angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-25 11:31:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6193501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Traxits/pseuds/Traxits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason decides it's time for a rite of passage for Damian.  It's too bad he has to kidnap Billy just to make Damian agree to go to Disney World.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Kidnapping

**Author's Note:**

> ... No. I don't know. Uh. Pre-established friendship between Damian and Billy, and pre-established ... relationship of some sort between Jason and Damian. Mostly Jason mentoring Damian during Jason's time in the League of Assassins. I will probably be adding a few chapters to this as I work through my current prompt list.
> 
> Prompt 62: Magic.

Jason waited on the doorstep while Alfred 'fetched' Master Damian. He didn't set so much as a toe inside that threshold, and he could feel Roy's too tense gaze on his back. Probably watching to make sure Jason didn't lose his shit and break something.

That wasn't really a problem though, when Jason knew that it was only Damian and Alfred here. No matter how he felt about Bruce, he couldn't bring himself to do anything to upset Alfred. He'd probably broken the old man's heart enough by now. Instead, he just rolled a cigarette between his fingers and looked down the hallway. It hadn't changed much. No. It hadn't changed at all, honestly, and Jason didn't let himself think about the portraits that he knew were inside. Portraits of Dick, of Jason himself, of the two of them. Bruce had loved paintings, even if he hadn't much cared for actual photography.

It was easier to gloss everything over in a portrait, Jason supposed. Easier to smooth things out with a little extra paint and there was no reason to risk capturing something on film that didn't need to be.

Damian appeared at the end of the hall, and he went still as he met Jason's eyes. Just as well. He hadn't seen the kid since—

(Rotten eggs and garlic, heavy perfume and incense and more bruises than he could have counted. He'd only thought that the bruises at home before Batman had been bad. They'd had nothing on the broken bones and the fractures and the constant looming threat that they might put him back in the Pit, might somehow deem him worthy by their sense of justice and righteousness that hadn't lined up even slightly with his own.)

He grinned, slow and easy, and he let go of the cigarette that he hadn't realized he'd snapped. Damian walked down the hallway slowly, and he looked different here, in the daylight, in the too-neat suit and his hair styled in something other than the careless roll out of bed. He looked human when he wasn't covered in blood.

(There had been too many nights of holding him, too many nights of helping him wash that blood off. Too many nights of Damian helping him, and they'd both known that they couldn't talk about it, couldn't think about it. There was too much betrayal in thought, in wants, in everything that made them both human. It wasn't safe to be human while in the midst of the League. It wasn't safe to be human in the midst of Batman either, but Damian wasn't with Batman right now. He was with Alfred.)

"Hey, punk," he said easily. "Came to pick you up."

Damian raised an eyebrow, but for a long moment he didn't actually respond. He just studied Jason with that too sharp gaze that Talia and Bruce both had. Hell, the kid had never stood a chance.

"Car's that way." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, and Damian's spine straightened slightly. His shoulders went back, and Jason knew that tension, knew that his fingers were flexing, instinctively going for a dagger. Jason's grin widened, and he could feel Alfred's gaze on him, but he didn't let himself tone anything down. The old man knew that Jason was dead. He'd buried him years ago. He might not have met the monster that had crawled in this skin in the Pit, but Jason figured it probably well past time. "Got the next few days planned."

Damian's jaw tightened, and he shifted his weight, clearly recognizing the manic in the edges of Jason's grin. He folded his arms over his chest, and Jason pretended not to notice how white his knuckles were.

"What makes you think I'm leaving with you?"

His voice was as steady as ever, steady and even and assassin-perfect. Talia was probably proud. Doubtless it got under Bruce's skin like nails on a chalkboard. Jason snorted.

"Well, I figured you'd say no. So I went and picked up your friend. Now, one way or another, he's going with us. Question is," and Jason leaned in for this until his mouth was barely an inch from Damian's ear, "do you trust me with him?"

Damian jerked, but he didn't pull away. His next breath was sharper than it had been, and he tilted his head up, his jaw tightening. Kid probably cracked a tooth trying to be so stern. "Let me get my coat then," he said sharply.

It really was too bad that Alfred already had a small bag ready to go for him. Watching Damian storm down that hallway to fetch his things would have been a work of art, something worthy of the stupid portraits that Bruce liked. Jason glanced up at Alfred, nodded, and then stepped back to let Damian brush past him, bag over his shoulder.

Kori was already in the car, and Billy Batson hung over the edge of the front seat, fiddling with the radio. Jason wasn't entirely sure how the two of them had even met, but he knew that they were probably as close to friends as Damian could manage. Billy had gone to at least one charity gala with him.

"You know you are welcome here."

Jason jerked at the words, and he looked back at Alfred. This time his smile was a little softer. "Nah, old man. Not really the type anymore. I'll bring him back in one piece."

He headed to the car, popping the trunk for Damian to drop his bag inside, and he walked past Roy on his way to the driver's seat. Roy's hand wrapped around his elbow, and he managed a little smile as he looked up at Jason.

"You know, Jaybird, if you've gotta kidnap his friend..?"

"C'mon. Kid'll love Disney World," Jason retorted, his grin widening. "And besides. I got him to agree to go. Just like magic."

"Yeah, I did _not_ take that bet, you remember? Just... Ugh. Whatever. Let's get these three to the park."


	2. The Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They arrive a little late for park-hopping, but there is both a pool and a playground, so maybe not a complete loss for the first night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a note here, it has been a very long time since I was at Disney. Because of that, while I have researched some of the new additions, I may have a weird mix of new and old.
> 
> Prompt: 32, Night.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the travel was that almost no one spoke. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Roy chattered and Kori hummed her own agreement as she flipped through the pages of whatever magazine she'd been reading in the car. And on the plane, Roy had still chattered, even as he created a small working trebuchet out of debris from Billy's pockets and things he'd snagged in the airport. Billy had spotted Kori flying beside the plan more than once, and he'd made a point to wave at her each time.

Damian though, he hadn't spoken since he'd gotten in the car. He'd looked at Billy sharply, all narrow eyes and what Billy liked to consider concern, and then he'd stared stoically at the back of Jason's seat. It was a good thing laser eyes weren't something one could will up, because the car would have wrecked if Damian had actually managed them.

Jason hadn't spoken either, opting to chain-smoke while they were in the car. He'd changed before they got on the plane though, and he'd worn a nice suit that made him look... well. Billy thought he looked a lot younger, all cleaned up and nice like that. It was strange, thinking of Red Hood as someone vulnerable. Glancing out the window at Kori, watching her roll through the clouds and glint in the rapidly fading light, made Billy wish he'd just gone with her rather than survive this plane ride, but Damian sat beside him, and he was so tense that Billy worried he might break if someone startled him.

Not, of course, that it was possible to startle Damian Wayne. Billy would know. He'd tried.

Landing was a relief until Billy realized it meant another car ride, and he groaned, loud and dramatically. That just made Roy ruffle his hair, and Kori smiled at him before she dropped down in the front seat of the convertible that Jason procured. Billy wrinkled his nose, then got in the car too, wedging himself in the backseat between Damian and Roy, watching the city fly by, darkness overtaking everything until it was just a mass of twinkling lights. The interstate whipped over the city, all long curves, and it wasn't until Jason took an exit that Billy bothered to actually pay attention to where they were. His eyes narrowed, and he could feel Roy watching both him and Damian, likely waiting for a response. He leaned forward, pushing between both Kori's and Jason's seats to look up at Jason.

"Seriously?" he demanded. "Disney World? Are you kidding me?"

Jason shrugged, flicking out another cigarette, and where the hell did he even get them? Billy hadn't seen him buy another pack. "Yeah, kid. Are you buckled?"

Billy snorted loudly, just to prove what he thought about that. Middle seat didn't have a belt across his chest though, and while he felt Roy checking to make sure his lap belt was, in fact, buckled, he ignored it. "You kidnapped us to take us to Disney World? You could have just said that, I mean, who the hell says 'no' to Disney World?"

"I fail to understand how we are traveling to another world here," Kori added, looking over at Jason with a raised eyebrow, but there was a smile on her lips. "We didn't take the ship—"

"You guys have a ship? Shit, that's not fair." Billy huffed as Roy pulled him back to sit back again. He looked over at Damian. "Did you know they have a ship?"

Damian looked over at him, and then returned his cold expression to the back of Jason's hair. "They have an alien," he pointed out. "It would make sense, Batson."

"Ugh. Not cool, man." Billy sighed as he leaned back, looking out at the trees and the grass and the brightly colored signs that blew past. It was too dark to be sure, but he would have bet money that they were probably the most amazing trees and grass and signs that he'd ever have seen. Jason navigated it all easily, not slowing down enough to read anything. Billy's eyes narrowed as he considered that, and then he stopped considering it at all, because they pulled up to what had to be the biggest hotel that Billy had ever seen.

When they got out of the car, Jason handed bags off to Roy and then handed the keys over for valet parking. He looked up at the building, rolled his shoulders, and then headed in, presumably to check them in. Or get keys. Or whatever adults did to get rooms at hotels. They all trailed in behind him, but Roy and Kori didn't let Billy or Damian stop with Jason at the counter. Instead, they ushered both of them on down the hall until they found an elevator.

Billy raised an eyebrow when Roy punched a button for their floor, and he couldn't help but ask, "Fifth floor? We're not on the top?"

"Nah. Fifth floor has a better view," Roy replied, shrugging. He reached up to scratch his forehead just under the edge of his hat, then pulled it back down. They were all quiet again until they got partway down the hall, and Roy opened one of the doors.

The only place nicer than this that Billy had ever been in was the Manor, and that was only the once. He whistled lowly as he darted through the kitchen and started turning around and around in the living room trying to look at everything at once. Damian walked just a couple of steps behind him, and when Billy bumped into him, he punched Billy's shoulder automatically. Billy laughed, looking over at him.

"C'mon, man, this is pretty cool."

Roy grinned as he watched both of them, and then he nodded to the door back in the kitchen, just beside the door they'd come in through. "Place is a set of suites, yeah? You guys get that room. Got your own bath and everything. Either share the bed or fold out the couch. You gonna need help with that?"

"Like hell," Billy retorted with a grin. "Fold out the couch if we need it. Got it."

Kori put one hand on her hip as she looked them both over, and she nodded slowly. "There is food in the kitchen, and Jason and Roy fetched you clothing. We folded it and put it in the dresser."

A nod from Roy, and he added, "We're in this room over here if you need us, and if you need something washed, just leave it in the basket. We've got a washer and dryer here in the room."

"Sweet," Billy said, and he grabbed Damian's hand before Damian could protest. "C'mon, let's look."

"It will look exactly like this room, Batson," Damian protested, but he didn't actually pull away, so Billy counted that as a win.

Behind them, Roy called out, "We're going down to the pool soon as Jaybird gets back, so if you wanna go—"

"Got it, got it," Billy said, waving a hand before he shut the door. Damian pulled away the moment the door shut, and Billy shot him a huge grin. "Freaking Disney World, man. You ever been?"

"No." Damian's voice was clipped, as he surveyed the room, and Billy watched as he headed over to the dresser to open it. He inspected it with a thoroughness that never ceased to impress Billy, and when he frowned, Billy headed over.

He leaned over Damian's shoulder, reaching past him to pick up one of the pairs of swimming trunks. "What, you were expecting weapons to be stashed somewhere?"

"I was expecting this to be something other than the inane trip it would appear to be. Not when—" Damian's voice caught for a second, and Billy made a point of not looking at him, not drawing attention to it. "When Todd is involved."

What name had Damian been about to call him?

Billy shrugged. "Whatever. Still gonna be fun, right?" He turned to look at Damian, closing the dresser drawer with his hip as he tilted his head. Damian met his gaze, and Billy frowned when he realized that no, Damian really wasn't happy about this impromptu trip. He dropped the swim trunks on the dresser behind him and reached out to brush his fingers against Damian's arm.

Damian didn't flinch from the contact, which was world's better than the first time Billy had tried that.

"Damian," he said, leaning in. "You okay? If you don't wanna be here, you don't gotta be here. We can leave. There's a balcony." He pointed, and Damian reached up to dislodge Billy's hand before he pulled the dresser open again, the motion pushing Billy away.

"No."

Just... no. Billy gave him a minute, but Damian didn't offer anything else, any sort of modifier or explanation. Just 'no', and he pulled out the other pair of trunks, checked the tag, and then handed them to Billy. He put the first pair back, and closed the dresser.

Billy's brow furrowed. He didn't change into the trunks though, because he knew better. No matter how much fun it would be to go to the pool and pretend he was normal, his scars were too distinctive. Much like Damian's. The two of them together would probably be enough for someone to call child protective services, and Billy had less than no interest in dealing with them, especially since Jason sort of had kidnapped them both.

The door popped open then, and Roy leaned in, holding onto the doorframe to keep from falling all the way in the room. "Hey, you guys, we're... you didn't change?"

Billy tossed the trunks back on the dresser, watched Damian twitch at the careless mess, and then grinned at Roy. "Nah. We'll go down with you though. Is your ah, Jaybird back?"

"Jaybird or your trachea. You can't have both," came the clearly automatic reply from the living room. Billy snorted his laugh. Damian rolled his eyes, but Billy was pretty sure there was a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

They both followed Roy into the living room, where Kori had opened the balcony doors and Jason was leaning against the kitchen counter. Kori draped half over the rail, watching something in the dark, and Billy tried really hard not to gawk. At least he wasn't Shazamed though, because he was pretty sure he'd have been beet red.

Jason snorted at him, and he turned to look at both Damian and Billy as Roy brushed past him to the balcony. "All right. Rules. One, you don't leave the hotel grounds without one of us three. Two, you stay in the same park as whoever you leave with. And three, don't make the cast members uncomfortable."

"Cast members?" Billy frowned faintly at the title.

Jason waved a hand. "Employees. Whatever. Just don't go out of your way to bug them."

Damian was the one who snorted next, and he folded his arms over his chest as he looked up at Jason. "Just how much time do you spend down here, Todd?"

Jason's grin was all too sharp, a knife that made Billy want to push Damian back behind him just because holy hell what kind of brothers turned that expression on each other?

"Enough," Jason replied. "They're discreet and they don't mind Kori being orange. You guys got the rules?"

Billy nodded slowly, still considering that, and Damian turned to look up at one of the cabinets. Presumably to fake inspect the carving there. Billy would have to tell him later that it was meant to be Simba, he was sure. They hadn't made it to the Lion King yet on their Disney movie watching, but considering how rarely they had long enough to actually watch a movie, that was not too surprising.

"So why'd you bring us to Disney World?" he asked, looking back up at Jason. Jason blinked, dragged his gaze away from Damian, and looked over Billy like maybe he'd forgotten Billy was there. ... Maybe he had. Billy could just barely smell the sulphur and arsenic on Jason's skin. It wasn't physically there. Jason couldn't have interacted much with the real world if it was. But magically... It had saturated every pore of him when he'd been revived. Who knew what it had done to him mentally. The Justice League didn't like to talk about it.

"You're kids," Jason finally said. "You're supposed to come here at some point."

"It's a Robin initiation," Damian said flatly. "Bruce has brought every Robin in here."

The two words that mattered were the ones that hung in the air, lingering and unspoken and all the weightier for it. _Except me_.

Billy's jaw tensed. No wonder Damian had said no.

"He _knows_?" Roy was the one who broke the moment, and Billy blinked as Roy jabbed a finger toward him. "I thought it was some big secret who the Robins are! Or, Batman for that matter. Or whatever."

Billy grinned, and Roy raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, when you grin like that, _you_ look like a Robin. Who the hell are you?"

"Did you really think Damian had normal friends?" Jason replied, and with that, he waved Kori in. She pushed her hair back as she walked, and she smiled, wide and easy and so open that Billy figured she'd probably get along great with Shazam. "C'mon, Kori. We're going down." He turned around to grab a box off the table, and he handed out wristbands.

Purple to Billy, yellow to Roy, orange to Kori, gray for himself, and he held out the red one to Damian. Damian hesitated, looking up at Jason for a long moment before he finally took it.

"It's your key back in the room. Plus, I've got them all linked up to the same expense account and your passes into the parks. Don't lose 'em because I didn't get spares."

Roy grinned, so Billy would have bet that Jason was exaggerating. He probably had at least one set of spares, knowing the Robins and, more importantly, knowing their mentor. He looked down at the band, fingers tracing over the imprint of the Mickey head in the plastic. Then he watched Kori take hers from Jason with delicate fingers and feel the inside before she put it on.

"Don't worry," Jason said lowly, and Billy got the feeling he wasn't supposed to hear it, "Roy coated it. It shouldn't melt. And don't worry about the image projector here. No one's going to say anything."

And even if they did, Billy would make them regret it, he decided. He'd liked Kori's smile, liked how easy with herself she was.

"Pool time!" Roy said brightly, and he wrapped his arm through Kori's, leading her away. Jason stayed in the kitchen with Damian and Billy, and after the elevator chimed— they heard it just before the door latched closed— he raised an eyebrow.

"What, you two don't swim?"

Damian just looked away, folding his arms over his chest, and yeah, he looked a lot more like a sulky kid with that red mickey bracelet on. Billy bit his lip to keep from grinning, and he shook his head. "Not that," he said with a shrug. "We just... uh. You know. The lifestyle."

Jason didn't move, and Billy bit his lip harder, holding his gaze.

It was Damian who finally sighed as noisily as he could, his head falling back as he muttered something in Arabic that Billy didn't catch. Then he said, "Because of the scars, you imbecile."

Jason nodded after a minute, then he wrapped his arm around each of their shoulders and steered them after Roy and Kori. "Luckily for you two, there's a playground down there."

Jason left them standing in front of a small fenced in area, and he wasn't entirely certain that it wasn't a joke right at first. Then he looked over his shoulder, where Roy and Kori were laughing and drinking... something, and Jason dropped down to sit beside them. He noticed that while Roy and Kori were in swimsuits, Jason wore board-shorts and a t-shirt. Billy narrowed his eyes for a moment, and it was Damian's low, "Autopsy scar," that jerked him back to reality.

He winced at the reminder, and nodded. Jason would get it then, wouldn't he? People asked about that kind of thing. They couldn't help it. Human beings were curious.

He looked up at the sign in front of him, tilted his lip, and reached up to rub the back of his neck. "You think Jason realizes I'm not under twelve?" he asked, reading the rules.

Damian rolled his eyes and he headed into the play area. Billy darted after him, climbing one of the thatch-covered jungle gyms easily enough. Damian stood there on that strangely squishy ground, looking up at him.

"Batson. Just _what_ are you doing?"

Billy considered it as he dropped down to sit, letting his feet hang out under one of the bars. "Playing," he finally said, and he shot Damian a grin. "Why? Jealous?"

Damian sniffed loudly, and Billy laughed. He couldn't help it. He dropped out of the jungle gym to head over to the next one, happily climbing it too. If he stretched, he could just see one of the savannas over the edge of the fence, and he studied it for a long time. It was strangely lit. Probably meant to look like the light of a full moon, but there was some kind of strange glow to it. Then again, maybe there wasn't. Places like this collected human energy, collected wishes, and wishes were powerful magic if they were channeled properly.

It was entirely possible that the magic was just filtering the light oddly.

He glanced over his shoulder and waved Damian up. "You'll want to see this," he said, and he waited for Damian to glare at him, huff, and practically vault up next to Billy. His grin widened, and he pointed to one of the trees, where there were two lumps on the ground nearby. Damian's eyes narrowed, and Billy watched with amusement as Damian cast a glance around, then stood up, balancing on the narrow rail.

They stayed like that for a while, listening to the splashing and laughter from the pool. This time of night, it was almost only them. Oh, there were a few others in the pool, couples and a few older kids who probably thought of themselves as adults, but there was no one else around the playground. And as they watched the two lumps, one of them started to move.

Billy risked a glance up at Damian's face, just to watch him as the creature unfolded, first with that impossibly long neck, and then with legs that looked too long and thin to support it. It readjusted almost like a cat, finding a new spot to lay, and Billy's grin softened as he spotted the edges of a smile on Damian's face.

Yeah. Magic. Definitely thick around here, and Billy quickly looked back at the savanna so that Damian wouldn't catch him staring.


	3. The Hats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first day in the parks opens up with getting what Jason calls an essential part of the Disney Experience™: Ear hats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do feel like I should warn people that there's no plot here. Any resemblance to plots, living or dead, is purely coincidental. It's basically just an excuse to drop these honeys in the Parks and watch them flail. Got requests? Feel free to leave them either on my AO3 or on my Tumblr. I make no promises to include them, but hey, I'm always looking for more inspiration.
> 
> I will also point out that I was playing quite a bit with how Kori views and interacts with humans in this chapter. She's an interesting one to write, since per Jason in RHatO, she interprets people as something of a sensory experience, mostly light and smell. I tried to play with that concept a bit, and I think I like what I ended up with! I hope you do too. ^^

The only one who slept less than Koriand'r was Jason, so when she walked into the kitchen the next morning, she wasn't surprised to find him in there, tea already made. She leaned down to brush a kiss against the top of his head, her fingertips dragging along his shoulders as she opened the refrigerator. Roy had picked out an entire collection of sodas for her to try, musing all the while that he didn't know what sort of soda Damian or his friend drank, and she picked one at random to try. Cracking it open, she hoisted herself onto the counter to stretch as she let the first of the bubbles settle inside of their small metal tin. She looked over at Jason, watching the way the light in him flickered under her scrutiny.

"What?" he finally asked, twisting his chair, and she shook her head as she raised her soda to her lips.

Sweet and fizzy and she had never tasted anything like soda before her time here on Earth. She had consumed probably far too much of it at first, drinking it with more gusto that was appropriate by any culture's standard. She'd gotten control of herself by now though, and she lowered the metal container to the counter.

"I was simply wondering what you were doing," she replied easily. "Planning our attack for the day?"

"Hardly. I figure Roy will have a color coded itinerary that he'll insist we try to follow this first day."

"By tomorrow he will have discarded it, yes," she agreed, and she smiled as she considered it. Roy liked to plan. He liked to plan and he liked getting to be helpful. Neither Jason nor she minded, especially since neither of them particularly cared for the daily grind of such things. "Are the boys awake yet?"

Jason shook his head, sipping his tea again. "No. I don't think so. If they are, they haven't come out."

"Perhaps they escaped." She looked out the window, studying the smooth grass and the trees and the animals starting to wander across it all. "Tied their bedsheets together and made a rope."

"They could only drop down a floor or two with the sheets they have," Jason countered, but he was smiling. She could hear it in his voice. "I made sure. Plus, don't let Roy make you watch so many cartoons. Sheets are a terrible choice for that."

"Roy explained. Not enough tensile strength." Koriand'r hadn't needed the explanation, but it had amused her to let Roy teach her something. He forgot that physics were something that she was at least decent at. She had far more trouble with the specifics of living here, on Earth, and not upsetting their delicate human cultural expectations. It didn't help that there seemed to be as many cultures here as there were on Tamaran, and she could hardly be expected to learn the nuances of all of them, could she?

"I bet he did."

They sat together in quiet for several minutes, Jason finishing his tea as Koriand'r drank her soda. She never quite got used to the way the tea seemed to settle everything about Jason, seemed to level off the strange spikes in his light. The ritual of it, she had eventually decided, and watching him with it now, she was almost certain that was the truth. It was the ritual and the familiarity. She could understand that.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, and Koriand'r blinked slightly, focusing again on the moment at hand. "You don't have to be here," he added, his voice lowering, and she settled what was left of the soda back down on the counter.

"I do not mind," she said with a toss of her head. It wasn't quite a shrug, but she'd never gotten comfortable with that motion, exactly. Her shoulders rising and falling in such a way felt unnatural. "Though I do not look forward to playing _k'norfko_ to them—"

"I don't think nanny is really the right word," came another low voice, and she looked toward the door. The light that escaped the boy was too much sometimes, especially when he smiled, and she narrowed her eyes instinctively, against such brightness. Billy held up a hand, and then he rubbed at his own eyes before he moved to the refrigerator.

"You speak Tamaran?"

He stopped halfway in the refrigerator, and then he managed a little laugh as he shook his head. "No. Not... really. Not when I think about it. So what's the plan for today?" He came back from the refrigerator, and he poured himself a glass of Roy's preferred beverage: the white water that he claimed came from some sort of beast on this planet.

Koriand'r hadn't found herself interested enough to try such a beverage. She sipped the last of her soda. "Where is Damian?" she asked, instead of letting herself think about it further.

"Bathroom," Billy replied, and he shrugged. "We dueled over first dibs. I won, of course." When Jason raised an eyebrow at him, Billy shrugged. "Okay, look, I didn't actually win. He let me win. Probably because Alfred has him convinced it's polite. ... So... plan?"

Jason waved a hand. "Ask Damian. It's his trip."

"It stopped being my trip when you kidnapped Batson and brought him," was the counter, and Koriand'r squinted to see Damian around Billy's sheer brightness. Likely, Jason's brother was drawn to the boy for exactly that brightness, because it seemed to coax sparks within Damian's own nature.

She'd thought once that Jason was familiar in ways that had made her ache to think about, but seeing Damian, she realized that no, the two of them truly were very little like Richard Grayson. There was a similar texture to their light, a similarity in the way they smelled and the way they moved, but Dick was far brighter. He wasn't as bright as Damian's young friend, but he was much closer to that than to either Jason or Damian. When had she forgotten that, and why did it cause her heart to twist painfully in her chest?

(And why did she still think on him so much? That human boy who had been kind to her, the one who had held her hand and protected her. She hadn't known anyone not of her people would protect her, and even then, she'd always known there was a price. There was always a limit before one betrayed even those they loved most. She knew that. She'd grown up knowing that. And while it was foolish to expect anything to be different, Jason had already paid his price, hadn't he? He'd given everything up and learned that sometimes, the price wasn't worth it. ... She couldn't quite let go of her own hope that the price had been enough in her case.)

"Oh, I don't think so," Billy retorted, and his voice dragged Koriand'r's attention back to the present, to this moment. She blinked slightly against his brightness, but she couldn't help but smile as Damian leaned closer toward Billy. She couldn't blame him. She imagined everyone leaned in closer to him without thinking about it. "No, seriously, don't give me that look! I mean it! It's still your trip. I'm just along for the ride."

That light brightened for a second, and Koriand'r couldn't help but to laugh. She was relieved to hear Jason's low chuckle as well.

"Maybe more of a chaperone."

"That sounds like a nightmare. Who needs a chaperone?" Roy's voice cracked as he stumbled into the room. Jason pointed to the microwave, and Koriand'r heard Roy open it, then close it again and turn it on. Tea, knowing Jason.

"According to Batson, me," Damian retorted.

Koriand'r hummed very softly, studying Billy again, watching the way he had positioned himself at least slightly between Jason and Damian again. Warrior at heart, no matter how small, no matter how much he laughed. No matter how bright he was.

"Or perhaps," she said, sliding off the counter, "he thinks you need protection from us."

She left it there, with Roy sputtering and Jason watching her leave. She needed to clean up and dress. Prepare for this day among more humans than she knew how to count.

* * *

They took the bus to 'Magic Kingdom.' Koriand'r still hadn't gotten used to this place, so big and so bright and the crush of human beings around her was nearly unbearable. Their light and their scents layered so thick that she could practically taste them in the back of her throat. But Jason and Roy stuck the closest to her, and if she focused on their smells and Billy's brightness, it was easier to ignore the rest. Surprisingly, it was Damian who sat the closest to her, and she ignored Jason slipping Roy one of the cameras as she looked over at Damian.

He wore the same stubborn streak that Jason did, and not for the first time, she wondered at the way Jason changed around the boy. The youngest of them to wear that mantle, and Koriand'r didn't know how to express to him that she understood the weight of it. The weight and the freedom all at once that came with being the rabid one.

She'd been a slave princess, and she'd bitten more handlers than she could remember. She had no doubt in her that Damian had also bitten more than just a few of the hands that had reached out for him. It was safer, especially in a constantly changing battlefield. Billy had to be the only one who had insisted on leaving his hand exactly where it had been. Perhaps his light had simply flared as he'd laughed and asked if Damian was done.

She could imagine him doing such a thing.

Roy's hand brushed against her shoulder, and she leaned back into it slightly before she met Damian's gaze. Focusing so intently on humans wasn't easy. Their forms just weren't substantial enough to leave that much impression on her. But that fire in Damian's eyes, the fierceness...

She couldn't help but to smile. She knew that fire.

"Jason tells me this is a rite of passage for many humans in this country," she offered, and Damian's eyes widened slightly before he looked away.

"Todd talks too much."

Koriand'r tilted her head, watching the way Damian's jaw tightened under her scrutiny. Finally giving him a break, she looked back out the window. "Yes, well, he's not the only one."

"Hey!" Roy immediately lifted his hand to ruffle her hair, and she tilted her head back to look up at him. He started to lean in for a kiss, then glanced over to the side where several human offspring watched them curiously. Then he swallowed and leaned back, tugging on a strand of her hair. "Get you back later," he muttered.

She chuckled as she leaned her head against the glass. It was soothing, being around them like this, and when the bus finally stopped, none of them rushed her. They waited until everyone had gotten off before they moved to let her up and out, and she led the way, following the mass of humans. Jason quickened his pace to get just ahead of her as they neared the gates, and she let him handle getting them in.

She had to admit, there was something special about the place. Certainly, the normal humans stared, and she heard far more than just one whisper about being an alien or orange or any number of things, but the humans who worked here in their odd clothing, they barely batted an eye.

They simply smiled and curtsied or bowed or laughed, just like they did with the others. It was refreshing, and she had to admit, while she'd balked the first time Jason had ever brought her here to study humans, she'd grown quite fond of the place. Roy's hand slid into hers, and she glanced over at him before she looked for the two boys. Billy was easy enough to find, even in this sea of children, simply because he was so bright. Likewise, the innate darkness within Damian made him easier to find.

She'd never thought about how different the two of them had to be from other human offspring, but looking at them here, like this...

There was almost nothing about them even remotely like the other children. Their stances and their posture, even the way they checked the areas immediately around them, they were warriors, not children. She was unsure of how old they were supposed to be, but she imagined they were not supposed to be so similar to the adults that walked by. She pressed her lips together, and when Billy turned to her— she couldn't help but notice that he'd grabbed Damian's hand at some point— and smiled, she smiled back.

She was helpless not to.

Jason's hand landed on her shoulder, and he looked up the street to the large castle in the back. His smile was a touch less manic here, his light stable and easy. Surprisingly so, considering the crush of people.

"All right, guys. First things first. Hats." He nodded toward a blue building on the right of the street, and Koriand'r let him and Roy guide them all in. She slid her hand along the doorframe, lingering for a moment as she watched Damian stand stiffly just inside. Billy was already with Roy at one huge shelf of hats, touching everything. She smiled as she slowly stepped up behind Damian. He wasn't surprised by her at all.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," she offered. She could see the way Damian's light dimmed faintly even though he didn't say anything. She reached down and took his hand, and while he tensed, he didn't draw away from her. Too well mannered, perhaps, or he simply didn't want to cause a scene.

Everyone who wasn't in costume was watching Koriand'r after all.

She tugged him along over to Billy and Roy, and Jason was rifling through hats just a few rows down. She tilted her head. "What kind of hats are we picking?"

They all seemed to come with two flat discs on either side, and she frowned faintly as she looked at them. Jason had never insisted on such things when they'd come before. Perhaps it was something to do with the children.

It was Roy who looked up at her, already pulling on a huge green hat with what appeared to be ears hanging down. 'Goofy' it proclaimed in huge orange letters. She tilted her head the other way, studying it, and she reached out to touch the smooth letters. He laughed as he grabbed her hand. "Ear hats," he said sagely. "They're critical. We'll each need one."

She raised an eyebrow, a smile touching her lips.

"Will we now?"

It was Jason who came back, brandishing a bright red hat that he looked entirely too pleased with. "Yes. Everyone needs a set. And Damian, these are for you. We'll get them embroidered."

Damian's eyes widened as he looked up at Jason, and Koriand'r didn't bother to hide her smile. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen so much indignation on such a small face.

"What _is_ that, Jason?" she asked, cutting off whatever Damian had been about to say. Doubtless, it would have offended the human sensibilities of those with their offspring. "A face?"

"Nah, pants." Jason's grin widened. "Mickey Mouse's pants."

"I am _not_ —"

"Ah... Tradition," Jason countered. "Your hero picked these as his ears of choice. I had to wear them during my trip. It's your turn, punk. I'll get your name put on them."

Koriand'r watched as Damian's fists clenched, and she could see that light dimming dangerously low all over again. Before she could reach out to touch him though, Billy already had, and his warm smile was something that seemed to get under her skin. Damian was helpless in front of it too apparently, because the minute Billy touched him, the embers within him sparked again.

"C'mon, man, pick me one. It'll be fun. I'll get my name on it too."

Damian scoffed, but he looked across the rows and rows of ears all the same, hands flexing as he worked out that anger. Or tension. Koriand'r wasn't quite sure yet. He was similar to Jason, enough that she was sure he was trying to hide something, but not enough that she could be certain. He reached out for a set of ears that had a bright blue hat in the middle, and she raised an eyebrow as Billy groaned loudly.

"Oh, c'mon, seriously? That's a bit heavy handed, don'tcha think? Why'd I ever let you watch Fantasia, anyway?"

Koriand'r shook her head as she looked up the long rows of hats, and she glanced over at Roy with a raised eyebrow before she reached for one of the darker ones. Dark and white and it looked like the clothing Jason wore when he was being 'public'.

"Oh, a little tuxedo one," Roy said softly, and Koriand'r smiled, soft and slow as she looked up at him.

"Jason?" she offered, and Roy's eyes widened before he snatched the hat and took off after Jason, in line to get Damian's hat embroidered. She watched Jason stare at the ears for a moment, and when he looked up at her from across the shop, she grinned. Waved.

"Are you a princess?"

Koriand'r blinked at the question. It wasn't one she'd gotten often, but the human asking was very small. Young. Young in ways that the boys simply weren't. Maybe in ways they'd never been, if Koriand'r let herself think about it. She dropped down into a crouch, focusing on the girl.

"I am," she admitted, because while Jason and Roy and Damian and presumably even Billy had to juggle multiple identities, she only had the one. "My name's Koriand'r."

The girl gasped, looked over her shoulder at someone, and then back again. "Are you... Are you picking ears too?"

Koriand'r tilted her head, then she smiled. "I am," she murmured. She looked back up at the wall behind her. "But there are so many..."

"Only one for a princess!"

Koriand'r let the girl lead her over to a different section of wall. She could still see Damian and Billy out of the corners of her eyes. They had stopped going back and forth over Billy's ears, and Billy was holding the ones with the blue hat.

The little girl pointed, and Koriand'r reached up to get the white ears she was pointing at. They were pretty enough, sparkly and with some sort of human train on the top. But clearly, what had enamoured the girl was the tiara in the middle. Koriand'r set the hat on top of her head, and the girl squealed.

"You look like a princess!"

She smiled, and when she heard the tell tale click of cameras, she bowed. "Well then. I suppose I'll have to get these." She reached up and got a second set of the ears to put on the girl. "And you'll need a set too. I hear we're all princesses here."

With that, Koriand'r left the girl with her mother, and she headed over to Jason, grabbing the ears from Billy's hands on her way. When Jason raised an eyebrow at her, she smiled, and she heaped all of the ears into his arms.  
"We will meet at the ice cream shop?" she said, and Jason laughed faintly before he waved her on.

"Go. Enjoy."

Her grin widened and she waved both Damian and Billy out with her, leaving Roy and Jason with an armload of hats to work on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will probably be a little sporadic for the next bit. I do live in North Louisiana, and I am in an area that was affected by the flooding. I am safe, my family is safe, and my house is extremely unlikely to flood, but there's a lot to be done where I live due to the damage and the sheer number of people who have lost their homes.


End file.
